Board asks the question over water fluoridation
A DEBATE on children’s dental health ended with a request to council officers to explore the possibility of whether water supplies could be fluoridated.
Acknowledging it is a controversial subject, members of Calderdale Council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Board thought it was nevertheless an option worth exloring.
Coun Stephen Baines (Con, Northowram and Shelf) proposed officers be asked whether the council could consult with the public about the possibility of fluoridation. Coun Silvia Dacre (Lab, Todmorden) supported the proposal – and board members agreed the request to explore the possibility of fluoridation should be made.
Coun Marilyn Greenwood (Lib Dem, Greetland and Stainland) said NHS dentistry provision was another key issue – on looking on behalf of someone who had just moved into Calderdale she said she found there were no NHS dental health appointments available in Calderdale, though one or two had arisen since. Many practices would not take children at all resulting in oral health problems requiring extractions surgical procedure when teeth were in such a poor condition. It was important to explore all aspects which could improve children’s oral health, she said.
Board members heard that Calderdale compared favourably with the Yorkshire and
Humber average on a range of childhood oral health outcomes, but there remained scope for improvement. Within the borough there appeared to be a correlation between poor oral health and deprivation which in turn correlates with dental access in the under fives.
A presentation, by Assistant
Director for Child Health Improvement, Ben Leaman, with dental public health expert Stefan Serban of Leeds University, revealed that the council undertakes many of the recommended and evidence-based interventions. But Calderdale is one of the worst authorities regionally when it comes to applying fluoride varnish to children’s teeth, one of the interventions which can help protect their teeth. Statistics presented showed water fluoridation provides a universal programme of protection, especially over time.
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